My U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,865,992 and 5902493, Buchanan U.S. Pat. No. 6,207,032 and Bull U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,898 all described methods and/or apparatuses used to separate water from flowing oil and while each of these teach ways and means to efficiently employ enhanced gravity separation utilizing horizontal containment vessels and to compensate, to some degree, for varying total flow rates within the vessel none addresses the fact that the water and oil generally flow at different flow rates with variations in density and viscosity. Further, both the Buchanan and Bull inventions employ means for adjusting flow areas within the vessels, whereby the flow area is adjusted for either the flow rate of the oil or the flow rate of the water but not discreetly for both. The Buchanan and Bull patents employ a horizontal flow direction through the electric field when the electric field is employed, utilizing electrified and/or grounded grids that are positioned vertically with the lower edge of the electrified grids being above the oil/water interface to prevent electrical short circuiting of the electrified grid to the water phase. This arrangement exposes a flow path beneath the grids whereby a substantial quantity of the oil may pass without contacting the electric field. As the water separates from the oil within the horizontal flow path and settles into the water phase, the water content can become concentrated in the electric field immediately above the oil/water interface to the extent that electrical short circuiting may occur.
If heating is necessary to enhance the oil and water separation both the Buchanan and Bull inventions employ long U tube fireboxes with low overall fuel efficiency.
The deficiencies of the prior inventions require that the size of the containment vessels be increased to compensate for the inefficiency and also in the case of the Buchanan and Bull inventions more fuel will be consumed when heating is required.
As it is becoming necessary to explore and produce petroleum from more remote locations, often “water bound”, it is becoming important to reduce the “footprint” of the oil and water separators. Therefore it is essential to devise means and methods for improving the performance efficiency of oil and water separators. Accordingly my invention improves the method and apparatus to the extent that for any given flow rate the containment vessel can be made smaller and when heating is required, less fuel will be consumed than with prior inventions.